Category:Cow Lane Bridges, Reading

English: Media relating to the Cow Lane Bridges, in the English town of Reading, which carry the Great Western main line (and various spurs and lines thereof) across Cow Lane. Until the end of the 2010s there were two bridges, a very constrained single lane 'tunnel' taking Cow Lane under the main line, and a slightly less constrained one taking Cow Lane under the south to east freighr spur that connected the Reading to Taunton and Basingstoke lines to the main line avoiding a reversal in Reading station. Since the redevelopment of Reading station, there are now five distinct crossings of Cow Lane by rail lines; in order from south to north these are:

• a rebuilt and widened southern bridge, on the same location as the original
• a single track flyover taking the festival line over Cow Lane
• a double track flyover taking the fast lines over Cow Lane
• a new bridge carring Cow Lane under the relief lines, roughly parallel to the original northern bridge
• the original northern bridge, which now carries a path and cycle path under the relief lines.

The two flyovers also form part of the Reading Viaduct, which carries both fast and festival lines over the Reading to Taunton and Basingstoke lines, and then carries the fast lines over the festival line.